Yearning for that Blush
by classic-phan
Summary: Not many things flustered Kuroba Kaito and broke his Poker Face and the following two things are definitely not the ones that do: 1. Fish. 2. Kudo Shinichi saying cheesy pick-up lines.
1. Chapter 1

Pairing:Kuroba Kaito/ Kudo Shinichi.

Disclaimer: Detective Conan does not belong to me.

Also this is probably going to be a two-shot and has been cross-posted on ao3 under classizc_phan .

Summary:

 **Not many things flustered Kuroba Kaito and broke his Poker Face and the following two things are** ** _definitely_** **not the ones that do:**

 **1\. Fish.**

 **2\. Kudo Shinichi saying cheesy pick-up lines.**

Kaito had been minding his own business, it might be hard to believe him when he says this but he swears he was. He wasn't expecting the famous not-child detective to be standing behind him in Touto University's library. He certainly wasn't expecting him to lean forwards so he could whisper into Kaito's ear.

"I don't have a library card, but do you mind if I check you out?"

Kaito couldn't help but freeze, thinking if he should fight or flee, but if it was who he thought he was- which was definitely true because when was Kaito ever wrong- he should probably flee but that was what a coward would do and Kaito was anything but a coward.

So, he turned towards the detective and opened his mouth to say an equally cheesy pick up line but stopped when he saw how close his face was to the detective. Their noses were almost touching and Kaito could probably close the distance between their lips in less than a second –he suddenly wanted to know if it was possible to do just that. But he suppressed the urge to jump the detective and took a step back.

" I..I- what?," he sputtered.

Kaito wanted to positively smack himself right then and there when he felt his face turning redder that it already was; or jump from the top of the Touto tower without his hand glider the moment he got away from here.

Kudo Shinichi's serious face broke into a grin the moment he heard the thief's stuttered reply.

 _He was going to have so much fun with this._

Kaito regretted waking up that morning.

So he did what he should have done from the beginning and turned towards the librarian who probably heard and saw the whole thing judging by the blush on her face.

"Can I have the book I asked for?" Kaito said a bit impatiently, quickly grabbing the book which she held out and promptly made his way out of the building without even sparing a glance towards the Heisei Holmes.

 _Great._

Run away, Kuroba Kaito, you dumbass.

He only let down his poker face when he was in the safety of his house and his blanket. Putting his hands over his face, he let the blush hit his face in full force.

He remembered how it all started.

...

Kaito had been excited when he heard the news of his favorite detective coming back. He had been proud to hear the news of not-anymore-pint-sized detective taking down one of the biggest criminal organization from Nakamori-keibu at dinner when he complained about noisy detectives who were too young to face criminals. It had been difficult for Kaito to not break into a grin at the mention of his detective.

He was even more excited to hear that the old man Suzuki Jirokichi had made another announcement about his upcoming challenge for Kaito KID and surely that meant Tantei-kun would attend his heists like he did before when he was chibi sized.

Kaito was getting more and more excited and decided he needed to properly welcome his rival.

He continued to ignore the mildly constipated looks Aoko was sending his way, who was feeling worried after seeing the manic grin on her best friend's face.

He was looking forward to the next heist.

...

During his time as Conan, Shinichi sometimes didn't hate the fact that he had turned back into a child. While no one listened to him and he was constantly being thrown around, he had learned much more. He began to sympathize more, empathize more and be more considerate to those around him.

He had found a sister, a best friend and a lot more friends than he had made when he was himself at the least.

He learned that the world was much more than he had ever imagined and more dangerous. Although that didn't stop him from going after every case and every criminal he stumbled across. The small voice in the back of his mind whispered a - _you should probably stop doing that soon before you actually die-_ but he ignored it as usual because that voice sounded alarmingly like Haibara's and he thinks his body is conditioned to not listen to her.

But now, when he had finally turned back to his original height, he was beginning to loathe ever becoming Conan.

 _Maybe it wasn't a good thing that he returned._

"Does God hate me or something? Why did Lady Luck decide to leave me now?" he groaned, thumping his head lightly against the floor on which he was lying on, instead his head was met with paper which reminded him more about what he had gotten himself into.

"Can you stop complaining? Nobody told you to poke your nose in places where it didn't belong so it's your entire fault anyway. You should be grateful to Mouri-chan; I didn't expect her to give you her notes after what happened. You better do it properly if you want to graduate on time," Haibara said, her eyes flickering to the sad lump on the floor before returning to the newspaper in front of her.

Shinichi mumbled something before resuming the school work which he had been doing for the past two days, trying to complete all the work he had missed during his -almost an year and half- absence. Thankfully, he didn't have to do the whole years worth, just the last six months or so. He hadn't been able to do anything in that time as he was busy planning to take down the organization once and for all. He just hadn't expected it to take so much time and now he was suffering for it.

"I would advise you to finish it quickly," Haibara said, her voice a bit smug.

Shinichi turned his head towards the scientist and glared weekly, lifting an eyebrow in a silent question.

"You wouldn't want to miss your first heist as yourself, now would you?" her voice was positively smug now with a teasing edge to it and Shinichi wanted to do nothing more than burn himself at that moment, his cheeks were already burning a little so it wouldn't matter if he just burned them a bit more.

Instead he ignored her and went back to his work muttering about a _stupid thief_ and _why would he look forward to meeting a thief when he was a detective_ and other stupid stuff. He did start finishing his work more quickly, though.

Saturday morning, he found himself quietly drinking his coffee at Poirot waiting for Ran when his peaceful morning was very rudely disturbed by a very loud Suzuki Sonoko ranting about KID-sama and how she wished he would steal her because she shined brighter than all the gems KID had stolen.

Shinichi as per usual continued ignoring her and read through the heist note printed on the front page. It was a challenge from Sonoko's uncle so the note only stated the time and day when KID will strike –no hint on how he would steal the gem so Shinichi would be going to the heist without any clue, completely blind. He felt thrilled, going head to head with the elusive thief in his own body. The police officers will also listen to his deductions more now that he returned as Shinichi Kudo although he would need to rebuild the trust he had gained as Conan Edogawa.

Sonoko continued telling Ran her latest strategy to make KID fall in love with her and Shinichi had to hand it to Ran when she didn't even blink and just pointed out the fact that she already had a boyfriend who was better that Kaitou Kid- a thief- could ever be.

Ran smiled at Shinichi when she sat beside him by the windows and greeted him; he did the same while Sonoko gawked at Ran and _didn't Ran realize how Makoto-kun and KID-sama were different?_

Sonoko eventually settled down enough for them to order breakfast before they all engaged in a conversation about which university they were going to apply for and the upcoming tests. They all were applying for the same universities but Ran wanted to join a place which had a good faculty for law, Sonoko had yet to decide which course she was going to take and Shinichi just wanted to be able to go to a university. Although he did know which course he would take, he wasn't sure it was going to be easy to get into a university seeing how much school he had missed. He was grateful when the school authorities had allowed him to take the graduation exams even though it took a bit of help from his parents and the police.

The conversation had managed to stir back to the topic of KID and his upcoming heist and Shinichi was roped into capturing KID to present to Sonoko –not that he minded, well the part about capturing him and not the part about presenting the thief to Sonoko.

She had gotten a bit more forceful around him ever since he came back and he and Ran decided that they wouldn't date. She had been confused when she had found out, and saw that Ran wasn't mad about it? Her best friend had waited for this guy for so long and now they wouldn't even date?

She had asked Ran about it in the beginning but never brought up the topic after she saw the look on her face and heard the words that she said with conviction, "He is like a little brother to me now."

She was happy that her childhood best friend had moved on but that didn't stop her for being rude to Shinichi anyway. Not that Shinichi cared much for it, guessing from his lack of response to any for her verbal abuse.

That was how Shinichi found himself waiting alongside everyone, counting down till the moment the thief was said to appear. While he was glad he had been able to attend the heist even though homicide detective Kudo Shinichi had no place at a KID heist expect for being Suzuki Sonoko's friend; he wasn't sure if he was welcome anymore- not by the officers but by KID himself.

The officers had taken to him as well as he had thought and Inspector Nakamori had glared at him when he had arrived but he mostly stopped after Suzuki-san said it was alright; the other officers were just asking him questions about the big case he had been gone for which he politely declined to answer and reminded them about the heist which demanded their attention more. They left him alone after a while and he then focused on the thought that plagued his mind after he had reached the museum where the stone was being held. Did KID want him to keep attending the heists, even though he was not the KID killer anymore? Would they still play the game of cat and mouse, even if Shinichi was not pint sized anymore? Would they be able to have their roof-top conversations after the heist was over?

Before he could mull over these thoughts more, the lights went out and a loud voice was heard.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome! Today we have a very special guest with us here –Kudo Shinichi, the savior of the Japanese Police, please enjoy this little show as a warm welcome from this thief." He said and Shinichi's cheeks turned red.

Before Nakamori could shout at the taskforce to stop the thief, the whole room was filled with bright golden and blue lights. The inspector and the old man were tied together wearing clothes with different shades of colors like a sunset and there were the officers on the ground wearing a blue color not unlike the ocean forming the picture of a sun setting over the ocean. The room was filled with sounds of the ocean and calm background music. There was some steam spreading along the ceiling giving the illusion of clouds.

"I have stolen the Azure Maiden." KID announced with the gem held high for everyone to see.

Shinichi wasn't sure if he imagined it but his eyes met the thief's and there was a grin on his face before he disappeared in a poof of smoke.

He ignored Sonoko shouting for KID-sama and Ran's small gasps at the scene in front of her. Instead he immediately ran after the thief and jumped around the various traps that the thief must have set up beforehand and found himself at the rooftop in a few seconds. The time it usually took him to chase after the thief when he was Conan was more than a minute but now he could run and reach him in a matter of seconds, which Shinichi thought was a nice thing as he got more time with the thief.

His eyes widened when he realized what he had just thought.

 _More time to match wits with the thief._

That was better.

Soon he was face to face with the Magician under the Moonlight and Shinichi stopped. KID was looking directly at him with a wide smile on his face and something unrecognizable in his eyes.

"Welcome back, Tantei-kun! My, I never imagined that you were actually this tall," KID smirked, stepping towards the detective and stopping before him.

"KID, the jewel." Shinichi demanded, bringing his tranquilizer watch up and pointing it towards the thief.

"As impatient as always."

The Phantom Thief's hand reached up and Shinichi almost took a step back, he didn't think the thief would actually give him the gem so easily. He was correct when instead of the Azure Maiden; his hand produced an azure colored flower. The Savior of the Japanese Police looked dumbfounded as the flower was held out towards him. He stared at the owner of the hand who just grinned before taking a step forward but put the flower in Shinichi's chest pocket.

"It's good to have you back, my darling Meitantei." KID bowed and placed a kiss on top of Shinichi's hand before taking a step back and disappearing.

 _Maybe it was a good thing that he returned_ , Shinichi thought as he flushed a bright red.

...

Maybe the reason Shinichi flirted with him was because he was the one who started it, but he hadn't expected the detective to flirt back! He didn't want the detective to know how flustered he got whenever he saw Shinichi because damn that guy was beautiful. He wanted to look into Shinichi's eyes forever and hug him and never let go and … Kaito stopped his train of thoughts, he already knew that Shinichi didn't think of him that way considering his relationship with his childhood best friend and probably girlfriend Ran.

Kaito shouldn't think about Shinichi's relationship with her.

He should be thinking about the important matters about how Shinichi now knew how he looked and could probably find out his name in seconds and get him arrested, although he seriously doubted that Shinichi would ever do that. His detective had a weird set of morals; never chasing after KID outside of heists. This made him so much better than any other detective and more attractive in Kaito's eyes.

...

It was just Kaito's luck that he had to be seated right next to the detective in the only class they had together. He had been looking forward to this class as he was already really good at English and thus didn't have to put that much effort into it as his other courses required. Well Kaito didn't have to put much effort into a lot of things, they came naturally to him but he did have to practice.

So imagine his surprise when Kudo Shinichi very gracefully slid into the seat beside him five minutes before the lecture started. Shinichi looked at him and then grinned.

"If I could rearrange the English alphabets, I would put 'U' and 'I' together," he said with a self satisfied grin on his face as he watched Kaito's face turn red before Kaito turned his face towards the front and silently prayed for his poker face to come back and save him from this embarrassment.

He decided the best way to play out of this was to be oblivious. He looked at Shinichi who was looking at him expectantly and asked, "Have we met before?"

Kaito hadn't thought this through because who was he kidding? He knew he couldn't bluff the Detective of the East this easily and this theory was proven correct when the detective in question raised an eyebrow at him.

"Really, KID?" Kaito groaned as he heard his detective, thanking god that Hakuba wasn't here.

He looked Shinichi in the eyes and couldn't help but stare at him. The two times he had met Shinichi –at the heist and when he made a fool out of himself- he hadn't been able to look at him properly but now, sitting right beside him, Kaito looked at him properly. Shinichi's eyes were the kind of azure that sucked you in, the man's face was beautiful and while Kaito hadn't realized how good looking he was until now seeing how Kaito had seen him as Conan mostly and in newspapers. He suddenly realized why girls gushed over a homicide detective. He would too.

And well if they were going to keep meeting, he might as well, Kaito decided.

"Kaito. Kuroba Kaito." He flourished a rose and held it towards the shocked detective.

"W-what?" Shinichi stuttered, which was immensely pleasing to Kaito.

"That's my name. It's nice to meet you, Shinichi." Kaito said, beckoning his detective to take the rose, the same azure colored one he had offered to Shinichi on the day of the heist.

"A-ah thank you and it's nice to meet you too," Shinichi said taking the rose offered and putting it into his chest pocket. Kaito beamed at the gesture before looking forward again.

…

Kaito honestly didn't think he would meet the Heisei Holmes again on the same day but lady luck wanted it that way so who wanted to go against her wishes. He made his way towards Shinichi who was sitting near the end with case files in front of him. He sat across him and greeted him in a cheerful voice.

Shinichi looked up startled to see the newcomer before relaxing, sending Kaito a smile and returning back to the cases. Kaito had to rethink every lesson he had on breathing because Kudo Shinichi had just given him a genuine smile and it was the prettiest thing ever.

Kaito continued to think about all the things he wanted to do with those lips, making sure to keep his poker face on. Shinichi looked at the case file with a smirk that Kaito was pretty sure made criminals turn around and run with their tails between their legs, he shut his case files and put them in a neat stack before picking it up with his cup of coffee.

He looked Kaito in the eyes, his eyes shining as if he had the answer to the world before he grinned –that same grin Kaito had seen on him twice already and Kaito knew what was coming and he also knew that there was no way out of it and-

"If you were ground coffee, you'd be Espresso because you're so fine." And with that Shinichi left the café, muttering a quick goodbye and leaving Kaito spluttering like the mess he was.

...

Having dinner once a week with the Nakamori's was something that he enjoyed. He didn't enjoy it when the topic of conversation was about how smart Shinichi was. When Aoko had decided she would follow her father's footsteps in becoming a police officer, Kaito –as her best friend- had been proud of her even though he was on the opposite side of the law. While that didn't stop Kaito from teasing her at every opportunity and whining about police officers to make her mad, it didn't mean he wasn't proud of his best friend.

But he hadn't realized that this meant she, Hakuba and Shinichi would have some classes together, and now he didn't like it at all when he had been hit in the face with the fact. He thought as he poked at the steak in front of her, which was a bit burned around the edges –looks like Aoko's cooking hadn't improved that much. He knew Shinichi was smart, he had seen him work on cases and solve countless mysteries but he didn't need Aoko gushing over his maybe crush like that in front of him. And from the looks of it neither did Nakamori-keibu.

Though, the Inspector did acknowledge that the detective was smart. Seeing how he had handled the KID case a few years ago and how he had managed to get the jewel this time; he was unduly impressed. But he did worry about the kid, he had to have taken a hit and while it was pretty unnoticeable to those who didn't look closely; Kudo seemed to be weary and looked carefully at every shadow like it might jump at him any moment.

The conversation got louder as the Phantom Thief was brought into it and the inspector was shouting about how he was going to finally catch the damn thief and put him behind bars. Aoko cheered on her father while Kaito laughed behind his poker face.

...

Kaito walked the halls of the building juggling a few colored balls which kept of disappearing and reappearing, attracting the attention of all the passer bys and while he would usually stop and give them a little show, this time he had to be somewhere. Kaito had agreed to have lunch with Aoko and her nuisance of a boyfriend Hakuba.

He made the balls disappear when he saw Aoko talking to someone who stood behind the door. He called to her, running towards her.

"Ahh! Kaito, you're early," she said before turning back towards the person she was previously talking to. Kaito did the same and felt his eyes widen as he stared into eyes that mirrored his.

"Let Aoko introduce you two, Kudo-kun this is Kuroba Kaito –my childhood friend, I told you about him before- the magician. And Kaito, this is Kudo Shinichi," Aoko stated, oblivious to the fact that the thief and detective already knew each other.

"There is no need to introduce us Nakamori-san," Shinichi said with a grin on his face, "I'm already well acquainted with Kaito."

And Kaito again tried not to let his poker face crumble, which seems to happen anytime something involved with his detective came up. _And did he just hear him say his first name?_

Kaito thought that Shinichi couldn't get more attractive than he already was, but Kaito soon realized how wrong he was when he heard him say his name.

"Yeah, we already know each other;" he coughed, before trying to change the subject, "What were the two of you talking about?"

Before Aoko could say anything Shinichi stepped forward and said in a low voice, "We were just talking about this page a friend of mine sent me about pick-up lines." Kaito regretted ever trying to change the subject.

"I think one of my favorites was," Shinichi continued, a feral grin on his face as he looked Kaito directly in the eyes, "You must be a hell of a thief because you stole my heart from across the room." And just like that, a little red seeped into Kaito's face and his mouth hung open, breaking his poker face.

Shinichi continued grinning before bidding them goodbyes' and walking out of the little group they had created.

Aoko who had been strangely quiet, watching the whole conversation unfold, turned so fast to look at Kaito that he got scared for a second that she got whiplash, and glared at him.

"When were you going to tell me about you and Kudo-kun?" she whisper shouted at him.

"It's nothing like that, I swear. We just have a bit of a joke going on." Which was partially true, Kaito did think that Shinichi had been dropping those lines as a joke and that was part of the reason why he was so mad at himself. Because he was certainly thinking way ahead and hoping that there could be more between them.

Aoko opened her mouth to retort but Kaito quickly changed the subject by dragging her to the café where they were supposed to meet Hakuba.

Soon they were seated at the café, waiting for Hakuba to arrive. This might be the first time in his whole life that he would think this way but he wished that the bastard would arrive soon, just so he could escape from the look Aoko was giving him.

"Seriously, what is going-" Kaito cut her off before she could say anything more, waving to the blond detective.

"Hey Aoko, your boyfriend is here." He said, giving her his usual grin.

Both Hakuba and Aoko gave the magician a weird look because when was Kaito _ever_ happy that Hakuba was here? Hakuba ignored the crazy magician, turning towards Aoko silently asking the question.

"Kaito and Kudo Shinichi have a thing for each other," was her straight forward reply which neither of the two males were expecting. While Kaito's mind had _traitor_ going on repeat; Hakuba was too in shock to even form a coherent sentence which in its self was a shock.

"Wait, Kudo Shinichi, as in Savior of the Police Force Kudo, Detective of the East Kudo, Heisei Holmes Kudo Shinichi?" Hakuba said once he was able to form sentences.

"Yes, unless you know some other Kudo Shinichi," Aoko said in her deadpan voice.

"Bu- but how come he didn't realize that Kuroba was the Kaitou KID!?"

Kaito was about to turn the blond detective's hair an interesting shade of green for the accusations he was making towards him but was interrupted by Aoko pinching the bastard for even thinking that her best friend could be the lousy thief.

Kaito was proud of his best friend –she truly cared about him- before the next words left her mouth.

"Can you leave him alone? He is just in denial with the fact that he and Kudo-kun are practically an item."

...

Kaito had been waiting for this day for a while, he wanted to get more supplies for his tricks and Aoko had wanted to go test out the new restaurant that everyone was raving about. Aoko looked around the store while Kaito bought the things he needed, mentally putting a tick on the things that he had gotten and making a list of the things he would have to buy while being in a disguise.

They made their way towards the restaurant and were just being shown towards their table when Kaito caught a glance of a cowlick near the seats around the end of the restaurant before he turned back around, planning to have a embarrassment free day. He sat down facing the detective's back. _Perfect._

Kaito would try his best to not look at _him_ and Aoko won't notice the detective and the detective won't notice them –probably -hopefully. He would have to make sure that the detective didn't feel his gaze on him though, as he knew that Shinichi was weirdly good at feeling a gaze on his back, even though it belonged to a Phantom Thief.

 _It looks like he wouldn't have to worry about it_ , Kaito grumbled as he saw who the detective was with, _they look pretty comfortable together._

"Kaito! Bakaito!" Aoko shouted, moving her hands in front of his face.

"What do you want, Ahoko?" Kaito grumbled, pushing her hand away.

"I've been calling you name for a long time, you idiot. I was just asking if you were ready to order," she snapped, before calling the waiter over after she received a reply in affirmative from the lost magician.

It had been quiet for a while after that, the two friends talking about their days and their classes. Kaito had been sneaking one too many glances towards the detective who was still talking animatedly with the Mouri girl.

A scream ripped through the quiet atmosphere and Kaito was already in front of Aoko looking around for any signs of danger. His gaze stopped at the Heisei Holmes kneeling besides a person and barking orders at them. Kaito immediately moved into action and made sure nobody left the restaurant.

Of course, someone had to die whenever Shinichi was around. He was seriously considering getting him purified after seeing how bodies just piled around him. Although he was glad that Shinichi was there when it happened, at least the culprit would be caught.

He moved back towards where Aoko was standing, who was looking at Shinichi as he talked with the employees and the people who arrived with the victim.

"You seem really into it," Kaito mumbled to her.

"This is the first time I've seen Kudo-kun working on a case, it's fascinating to say the least." Kaito couldn't argue with that, _it was._ "And I thought it would be nice to see how everything went around a crime scene. Gain some practical experience."

"Maybe you should ask his friend who is standing there," Kaito pointed out Ran who was looking at the crime scene with worry in her eyes.

Aoko seemed to like the idea and went towards the other girl, not asking Kaito how he had known about them being friends. Kaito took this opportunity to look around the crime scene before the police arrived. While he was a criminal, he didn't really like seeing dead bodies and wanted to help his detective put the criminal behind bars as soon as possible, which was a bit ironic.

The police arrived soon after that and by that time Shinichi had singled out four suspects out of all the people present there. Aoko had found her place besides him again but this time Mouri-chan was with her, looking a bit more relaxed.

Kaito introduced himself, offering her a yellow rose which seemed to make her happy as she smiled and introduced herself in return. Together they watched Shinichi ask the suspects questions and run around the place looking for clues.

Kaito was the one to notice the smirk that spread across Shinichi's face as he stood up and headed towards Takagi-keiji and muttered a few words to him.

"Looks like it's over," Kaito grinned.

"Huh? What do you mean by that, Kaito?" both Aoko and Mouri looked at Kaito with confusion before Kaito pointed towards the Detective of the East.

"It's written on his face. The culprit should probably run now," Kaito laughed a bit when the culprit did run after Shinichi deduced he was the culprit and showed all the evidence along with the evidence he still had on himself. The culprit was the friend of the victim who had just found out that the victim had been embezzling money from the firm they used to work at together and had put all the blame of the culprit which led to him losing his job and his wife leaving him. The culprit ran towards where the three of them were standing near the entrance and Kaito already had taken out a few of his props to give the culprit some memories he would have nightmares about but was stopped when the culprit flew backwards instead, courtesy of Mouri Ran's roundhouse kick.

"Oi Aoko, remind me to never get on her bad side." Kaito quietly mumbled to his best friend

Meanwhile, Shinichi came forward, took one look at the unconscious man lying on the floor before giving Ran a high five. Shinichi smiled when he noticed the other two people and greeted them.

Aoko started asking him questions about the case and soon Aoko and Ran were talking about meeting up again and exchanging e-mails and phone numbers. During this time, Shinichi had found his way towards Kaito and was looking straight at him.

"I'm a bit offended that you didn't say hi when you entered the restaurant." The smirk on his face suggested he was anything but offended, although he seemed to be enjoying the look in Kaito's eyes.

"You noticed?" Kaito had been sure to be very discrete and knew that the detective was mostly hyper aware of everyone around him but Shinichi had never even looked at him during the time they were eating.

"I noticed you the second you entered, KID."

"Well if that's the case, then I should be the one who should be offended, Tantei-kun," Kaito teased while Shinichi just smiled at him.

Quietly they watched the police take last minute statements from the employees and Kaito couldn't help but notice the swell of pride he suddenly felt for Shinichi.

"Meitantei, you're always on top of things, aren't you?" Kaito complimented him.

Shinichi was stunned for a few seconds before a smile took over his face, which quickly turned into a grin and then a smirk.

"Why? Would you like to be one of them?"

 _Yes._

And just like that Kaito burst into flames. Not literally.


	2. Chapter 2

The rating has been changed to T (thank you for pointing that out) and there are suggestive things written here but it's like the pick up lines so nothing like that is written (sorry :p). Also, Happy birthday, Shinichi!

...

 **Alt title:** Where Shinichi is lame and Kaito still falls in love.

...

Kaito had started looking forward to his English lectures ever since he found out that he was sitting right next to Shinichi. The detective had become more open towards him, being openly sarcastic and making jokes. Although he still didn't laugh as much as Kaito wanted him to.

Kaito looked up and smiled when he saw Shinichi pull out the seat beside him, setting what looked like a cup of coffee on the table. Kaito had to hold back the snort that was threatening to come out as he looked at the cup, looks like his detective couldn't function without his fuel. Supposing it was the effect of being deprived of coffee during his back to re-elementary school days, the thief let the detective enjoy his coffee.

His sharp ears caught the murmuring of the two students in front of him. They had been discussing the upcoming soccer match that the college was having with what seemed to be the rival college. The striker was apparently going on a vacation with his parents during that week and couldn't back out of it. They were already a bit short on the players and having their ace back out of it wasn't going well for them. They were thinking about asking around and setting posters to find new members but that might take a while. To Kaito they looked like they were about to give up and he didn't like the thought of it. Never did.

Trying to think of something that might help the poor souls out he turned towards Shinichi and paused. The guy looked like he was in heaven with the way his eyes were closed and he had a blissful smile on his face. He took small sips of his coffee as though to make it even more memorable and to make it last and _wow._ Kaito knew Shinichi liked his coffee but now he looked like he was having an affair with it. And some non-significant part of Kaito actually felt jealous and he wanted to slap himself for that.

 _Jealous of coffee. What had the Kaitou KID become?_

And suddenly all his problems were solved because Shinichi. Shinichi! Kaito first hand knew what how good the detective was in soccer and he once heard the rumor that Shinichi had been scouted by _the_ Higo himself. The boy had serious skills, even when he had turned Conan.

Looking at the boy, Kaito realized he probably hadn't heard the conversation between the two boys. Determined, Kaito leaned forward and tapped the guys on the shoulder.

"Hey, I just heard you talking. Seems like you are in quite a pickle, huh? Lucky for you I know a guy who is really good at soccer." Kaito smiled his reassuring smile at them. The confused looks the guys give him quickly turned into ones of relief and excitement.

"Really? Who? It would be of great help if you could tell us about him. Do you think he would participate in the match?" the guy with light brown hair asked, his eyes hopeful and pleading.

At the moment Shinichi decided that his date with coffee has ended and leaned forward to listen to what the three guys were talking about. He had noticed the faint murmurs of conversation going on but had ignored them in favor of his coffee.

"What are you all talking about?" Shinichi asked, curious.

All of them turned towards the new voice and Kaito smirked, "Already done with your coffee? Need another private moment or so?" he teased and his smirk deepened when Shinichi glared at him.

Shinichi opened his mouth to retort but scowled instead when he was cut off by Kaito who turned towards the guys seated in front of them.

"This is the guy I was talking about, his name is Kudo Shinichi." Kaito smirked at how the guys' eyes widened when they heard the name and turned towards Shinichi so fast that they might have gotten whiplash.

"Wait! You are _the_ Kudo Shinichi? The Heisei Holmes and all?" the other, black haired guy who had some blond streaks in his hair, replied.

"Umm yeah," Shinichi replied before turning towards Kaito with a - _what is happening? What did you just do_ look and his glare deepened when Kaito's smirk just widened. His gaze quickly shifted to the other two when they grabbed his hand and begged.

"Please help us!" Both of them said at the same time.

Shinichi stared at them as if they had grown another head before swiftly taking his hands out of their grasp. Besides him, Kaito was doubling over in laughter and Shinichi could do nothing but glare at him.

"Looks like the Professor is here. We'll tell you after class." Kaito was still cackling like a mad man and Shinichi had half a mind to smack the thief but instead he turned forward and focused on the professor, intent on ignoring the thief but not before he had a little bit of revenge. Smirking, he leaned into Kaito's personal space, his mouth right next to his ear, "Hey?"

"Hmm?" Kaito smirked at the detective but his expression changed when he noticed the look on his face.

"I was wondering if you had an extra heart; mine seems to have been _stolen_ ," he finished it off with a wink as looked at KID's flustered face before turning his attention towards the Professor and ignoring Kaito for the whole lesson.

…

"So let me get this straight, you want my help with a soccer match because your ace won't be able to make it?" Shinichi was glad he had another cup of coffee on his hand, courtesy of Kaito as an apology for laughing at him –though Shinichi was sure that he was only getting this coffee because he had ignored Kaito during the whole lecture and a bit after that. They were seated at a café near their campus and Shinichi had a feeling that he would soon be experiencing a headache.

"I actually thought this was a case or something." Sighing, Shinichi took a long swig of his coffee. "I'm not really sure how I could help you; I get involved with cases a lot."

Looking at the guys faces crumble, made Shinichi feel a little bad, but it was true. He ran into a lot of cases.

"Come on, Shinichi! Live a little. We know you are a good player and it will be a good break from all the cases," Kaito put on his most convincing face and he could see Shinichi's will power crumble a bit. The other two were starting to look a little hopeful too. Kaito produced an azure colored flower and held it towards Shinichi, "Please?"

The two guys watched in amazement as Kaito did his magic and snickered when Shinichi took the flower with a blush on his face.

"O-ohkay. I guess I should." The guys cheered in victory and quickly exchanged numbers with Kudo before running off to tell the rest of the team members.

Shinichi just groaned and thumped his head on the table as Kaito laughed.

…

A few days later, after their soccer practice, Shinichi met up with Ran to talk about everything possibly happening or going to happen in their lives –especially about the growing number of flowers in his house; asking where he could buy more nice vases.

"I've got the soccer match on Saturday after two p.m. you want to come watch it?" Shinichi asked Ran over lunch, "If you are free. It's going to be against our rivals so everyone at the university is pumped up. Ugh I hope I don't mess up. It's been a while since I played an official match. This is all Kaito's fault."

"It has been a while since I've seen you play a match. Maybe you'll end up getting recruited by Higo-san again," Ran giggled, a nostalgic expression taking over.

"And I think it's nice of Kuroba-san to encourage you to play a match. Everyone knows you need to step away from cases; it'll do you good, Shinichi," suddenly a smirk appeared on her face and Shinichi wondered if she was really the sweet girl he had known since in kindergarten. "You've been getting quite close with Kuroba-san; you are even calling him by his first name. You haven't even known him for that long; you don't even call Hattori-kun by his first name and he's your best friend. Tell me, what is going on between you two? You two seemed pretty close when we met at that restaurant. I remember seeing a little bit of red of your face then."

Shinichi's face burned a bright red at his best friend's words and she grinned from ear to ear.

"Nothing is actually going on; he is just a close friend." Shinichi said, his voice small and he turned his gaze towards his lunch.

Ran had to suppress the urge to _aww_ and to smack him at the same time. How could her best friend who was such a famous detective _geek_ not notice how infatuated he was with this Kuroba guy? She had known Shinichi since they were kids and yes, after the scene with Conan and all; he had turned a bit reserved and Ran had caught him being paranoid and nervous in a lot of situations which didn't ask for it. She had seen him pale and sweating a few times since his return but could never bring her to question him on it. She knew he would just evade her questions because when does he not?

Still, she stared down Shinichi and decided that she would wait for him to accept his feelings.

 _Just this time._

And she hadn't known Kuroba for a long time and she wasn't going to push her friend towards someone who might not be good for him. Though from what she had heard from Aoko and seen from her own eyes, he was a good guy –a bit eccentric but maybe that was what her friend needed.

"I heard you've been talking with Nakamori-san. Have you two become close?" Shinichi asked with a desperate plea in his eyes to change the subject. Ran decided to go with his whims this time. Next time, she was going to include Sonoko and possibly Shinichi's mother. If it comes to that, Shinichi might possibly never talk to her again… but it would be worth seeing the expression on his face when he sees his mother. She couldn't help but grin at the thought.

"She is quite good company. I even introduced her to Kazuha-chan and Sonoko. We are meeting in a few days." Ran was pretty excited for it. They had hit it off when they had first met and now they were pretty close. Aoko-san was a pretty enthusiastic person and they always had something to talk about. She told Shinichi about the new hamburger place that they all were going to visit and told him all the things that they wanted to try. For his part, Shinichi quietly listened to her and put his inputs where he thought were needed. He was happy to see his childhood best friend so happy; he had caused her so much pain during these past few years. And telling her that he was Conan all along had lifted a weight of his shoulders that he hadn't been aware off. While Ran had been upset and mad at him because of it, she had every right to be, he was glad that their friendship hadn't deteriorated. He didn't know what he would do if it had. She had always been someone he could rely on, someone who knew about his flaws and accepted him. While they hadn't been able to pursue a romantic relationship, he had gotten a sister through the whole Conan business and he was a bit glad.

…

Soccer practices came and went. He still ran into his fair share of cases and was glad that he was able to attend his classes. He had been getting along with the whole team, though they seemed to be star struck whenever they saw him. Apparently everyone knew who he was –which wasn't really unexpected but still made him feel disconcerted. It made him feel a bit uncomfortable, the old Shinichi would have enjoyed all the attention he was getting but now it all felt intrusive. Hopefully, he would be able to get out of it when the match was over and the ace came back.

The match was soon and needless to say, Shinichi could feel all the energy in the air. He had to admit, he kind of missed playing soccer matches, soccer was his favorite sport and it really helped him relax. After a brief introduction of the rival team, they all were told to stretch and warm up. Shinichi took the time to look towards the crowd and was surprised to how many people were there. Kaito was there grinning at him with Nakamori-san and Hakuba. Ran was also there but it seemed like the whole of Detective Boys were there too. They waved when they saw him looking towards them and Shinichi waved back, smiling. It had been a while since he had seen them, and he had to say, he missed spending time with him. They didn't know about the Conan thing –thought that their friend had left for the States with his parents- but they had quickly latched themselves on Shinichi's side, saying something about how Conan had always talked about his Shinichi-nii-san and how they wanted to be as good a detective as Conan was.

Shinichi went back to stretching and failed to notice how Kaito was gaping at him.

On the other side of the field, one Kuroba Kaito didn't know how to feel. He knew Shinichi was already damn attractive but he had never seen the adult-sized detective in shorts and Kaito prayed to God that he would have the will to resist _Shinichi in shorts_.

Thus, he decided that the best way to not jump Shinichi was to hyperventilate standing besides Aoko.

"Aoko, help me," he pleaded, eyes still not moving from the form of Shinichi stretching, "I can't handle this much. He is going to be the death of me."

To say Aoko and Hakuba –the sneaky detective who had listened to Kaito's plea, although in his defense, he was standing right next to Aoko so he was bound to hear and Kuroba hadn't been whispering- were very confused was an understatement.

"Kaito, are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?" Aoko started, concern lacing her words.

 _No, but I do need a cold shower._

"No, it's not that. It's just- just…Shinichi is looking so good in those shorts." Kaito groaned, he really needed that cold shower now.

There was complete silence for a few minutes and Kaito looked towards the other two to see why they were so quiet. They both looked at him with flabbergasted expressions and Kaito would have laughed if they had not started laughing themselves. Kaito was left blinking at them. He hadn't said anything funny, he was sure. So why were they laughing?

"Kaito, you are so whipped," Was Aoko's reply, between fits of laughter. The blond nuisance was still laughing besides her and Kaito was sure that his companion's blond hair wouldn't be blond by the time this match was over. It looked like the detective too realized as he stopped laughing, though he let out a chuckle in between a few times.

Kaito ignored both of them in favor of watching the match that had started; he was soon engrossed in watching his detective run across the field after the ball. Kaito had to stop himself from whistling, the boy was quick, and he crossed the whole field in a matter of seconds. If Meitantei ever ran after him like that, KID would be in serious trouble. The whole group of people shouted and cheered when Shinichi made a goal, there were a bunch of sighs and groans too but they were cut off by all the cheering.

"Hey, isn't that Kudo Shinichi who just made the goal? He is _so_ hot and _dashing_."

"Isn't he? I really wish he is single."

"Me too. I bet I could make him go out with me by the end of the week."

"Kudo Shinichi is a detective though, and a famous one at that. I don't think he would be interested in someone who isn't into mysteries."

"Do you think he already has a girlfriend? I mean it wouldn't be strange if did, like who in their right mind would not want to go out with someone who has those legs?"

"Do you think he would go for the other team?"

Kaito was starting to get annoyed at the group who was making all these comments. He was just about to give them a piece of his mind when Aoko grabbed his arm and dragged him away.

"Kaito, I know what you are going to do and you are _not_ going to ruin this match because you are jealous." Aoko gripped.

"Who said I'm jealous? I'm not. I just think it's very rude of them to take about someone like that. I'm just going to have a very civil conversation with them," Kaito slipped his arm from his grasp and was about to go have an _extremely civil conversation_ with them when what Aoko said next made him stop.

"Aoko thinks Kudo-kun wouldn't really take well to being disturbed like this on his very first match in college. Maybe you can do something after the match is over but you can stop for now, can't you? You wouldn't want Kudo-kun to be sad, would you Kaito?" Aoko told him earnestly with a pleading voice. Well, it was true. Kaito didn't want to ruin Shinichi's day and he seemed to be having a good one too.

Looking back at Shinichi on the field was enough to make him stop; he looked like he was having a lot of fun and was grinning from ear to ear. He looked like a child –which Kaito couldn't help but snort at. How ironic. Well, if Shinichi was having fun then Kaito would hate himself if he was the reason he couldn't have fun, his detective already never laughed much and was always stuck in cases to have much fun. It was a good thing Kaito had persuaded him to play the match. It was doing the detective good.

"I'll leave them for a while," he grumbled and focused on Shinichi again, a small smile on his face.

Aoko dragged the two boys beside her towards where Mouri-chan and the kids were standing. They greeted each other excitedly while introductions were made. Kaito offered the kids a flower each –a bit warily to Haibara- and the kids were amazed by his tricks and gushed. Kaito smirked, he had gone against these brats a few times as KID and they were still easily moved, though they did try to guess how he did it. Shinichi sure was teaching his kids properly. Though Haibara did not look amused and the smirk that quickly appeared on her face made him quickly look away and focus on Shinichi. Shinichi who was sweaty, cute and looked like a supermodel after a day of heavy workout and who-

Kaito stopped his train of thoughts before they could go to dangerous places.

Their team won by 4-1 and there were lots of loud shouts –both excited and angry. After shaking hands with the rival team and having a word with the coach and his teammates, Shinichi looked over and started walking towards the group.

He was immediately met with shouts of cheer and congratulations when he reached the group and the Detective Boys surrounded him, showcasing their flowers.

"They're very beautiful," Shinichi smiled, kneeling down so he could be at eye level with them.

"Kaito-nii-san gave them to us. He's a magician! Do you think he would agree to show us some more of his magic?" Ayumi asked her eyes round and hopeful.

"I'm sure if you ask him then he'll agree."

The kids turned and stalked towards Kaito with determination, asking if he would give them a magic show and Kaito agreed. He always loved giving small shows for the neighborhood kids and thus jumped at the chance of showing off his skills.

They all talked about the game and Hakuba got into a very long and heated debate with Shinichi about Conan Doyle's best novel. Before it could turn into an hour long conversation, Ran thoughtfully butted in and told Shinichi to go change so they go Poirot after this.

Suddenly realizing that he was still in his jersey, he said a quick goodbye and turned towards the locker rooms, not before giving Kaito a brighter-than-the-sun-smile and Kaito was left gaping. Aoko pushed him towards the detective with a subtle, 'Go after him or don't talk to me ever again,' before nudging the others towards the gate.

Kaito smiled at her before rushing to catch up to Shinichi.

"Hey, that was a great game. You did great!" Kaito said as he neared the boy. Shinichi looked up startled before relaxing and looking away, his face a bit flushed. Which was a great look on him, Kaito decided, probably due to him running during the game?

"A-Ahh thank you."

"So, are you thinking about joining the team?" It was a great game and Shinichi had scored three goals himself, they would be stupid if they didn't try to recruit him as a permanent player.

"I want to focus more on the detective work. It was a fun game but it does require a lot of time and practice," Shinichi said looking at him with a smile. "But thank you for giving me this chance and convincing me to play the match. I had fun."

"I didn't really do anything; I just know how good you are with soccer balls," Kaito laughed nervously, remembering how those accurate soccer shots were so painful. Shinichi gave short laugh and Kaito smiled at it.

"So you are giving the kids a magic show, huh?" Shinichi asked after a small lag that had appeared in the conversation.

"What can I say? No one can resist this magician," Kaito smirked at the detective. The detective shot him a glare before muttering something that suspiciously sounded like _that's true_ but Kaito must have imagined it. Because why would Kudo Shinichi think that?

"Oh? Are you a magician?" Shinichi gave a pause, a smirk taking over his features and Kaito knew what was coming and he was _not_ prepared. "Because whenever I look at you everyone else disappears."

Kaito's brain halted as he tried to process what Shinichi had just said. Just as he recovered and was about to have his revenge, some of the girls from earlier approached them.

"Kudo-san! That was a great match, you were amazing!" one of the girls squealed.

"You did so great! You should join the team and then we can cheer for you!"

"Right! Right! You were pretty great," another girl joined the squealing, latching onto Shinichi's arm.

"Uhh thank you," he said politely, gently shaking the girl off him. "Actually I have to go change right now, so I think I should better go. It was nice seeing you, Asaki-san, Yamada-san and Kimura-san. Thank you. Kaito, I'll see you in a minute or two." Turning towards the rooms, he quickly fled.

Kaito was about to go sit on the benches outside the room before he heard the girls.

"He knows our names! Do you think he's into us?" the girl who had first congratulated Shinichi said.

"Are you kidding me? He was obviously interested in me," the girl who had latched into his arm said and the giggling group of girls walked towards the exit.

Kaito glared at them as they went away, he was suddenly pretty sure they were going to wake up with neon hair tomorrow.

They did.

…

A few weeks later, everything went back to normal. Unfortunately, the girls' hair did too. It had been a while since he saw Shinichi and was looking forward to seeing him in English class.

"Kaito, stop looking so pleased and excited for an English lecture. You are seriously freaking me out," Aoko said from besides him as they walked towards the hall where his class was.

"Ahh I get it. It's because Kudo-kun is in that class, right? Are you two officially together now? Can Aoko start the wedding planning?" Aoko said with a smirk on her face as she laughed at him.

"Piss off, Ahoko." Was all Kaito said as he entered the halls and separated to go into their respective classes.

Kaito was pissed. He found out that Shinichi wasn't going to show up to their class after the first ten minutes since Shinichi was always on time; unless he had gotten involved in a case while coming to class. When Kaito thought about it, it was likely to be the reason why he wasn't attending. Shinichi was strangely meticulous when attending lectures, probably because of all the classes he missed during high school –not like Kaito was complaining. He was getting to see his favorite detective outside the heists!

Making a mental note to ask Hakuba about it later when they meet for lunch, he focused on what professor was saying.

After five minutes Kaito gave up on concentrating on the lecture, his mind kept going back to Shinichi, wondering if he was okay or not. An uneasy feeling settled in his gut, but he kept it at bay. Shinichi would tell him if something happened, wouldn't he?

 _Knowing him, that was most unlikely._

They had exchanged numbers already, sending each other random messages during the day. Shinichi knew lots of random facts that he liked to send Kaito in the middle of the night. Thankfully, Kaito had a degree in knowledge of random facts and sent Shinichi more weird facts. Their latest conversation went something like this:

 **Shinichi:** Did you know that if you lift a kangaroo's tail off the ground it can't hop.

 **Kaito:** A flock of crows is known as a murder.

 **Shinichi:** That …explains a lot actually.

 **Kaito:** I know!

Recalling their conversation made a small grin appear on his face. He quickly took his phone out and sent out a simple _hey!_ to Shinichi before putting it back in his pocket. Of course none of this was seen by the professor, he wasn't an internationally famous thief for nothing.

The lecture ended without anything interesting happening –no message from Shinichi too. Sulking -not that he would ever admit that- he made his way towards the cafeteria where he could interrogate Hakuba about Shinichi.

It was easy to find Hakuba who was sitting besides Aoko; Kaito was generally good at picking out nuisances from a room full of people thanks to his night job.

He slid into the seat in front of Aoko before taking his lunch out. He knew that directly asking him about Shinichi would be troublesome but he had an idea how he-

"Kaito," Aoko began, her voice taking on a teasing tone, "how was your classroom date with Kudou-kun?"

 _Easy_ , Kaito thought _, Aoko you are so predictable_.

"Classroom date?" Hakuba questioned when Kaito ignored her in favor of his lunch.

"Oh, Saguru-kun, don't you know? Kaito was so excited this morning for his lecture with Kudou-kun. It was disgusting."

"The only thing disgusting here are those brown polka-dots underwear you are wearing," retorted Kaito.

"Kaito, you idiot!" Aoko shouted, before launching herself at the thief with a magically appearing mop in her hands. Kaito swiftly dodged her attacks; the cafeteria had already resigned themselves to the circus show after the first five times and now ignored them.

Hakuba signed before turning his attention towards what Aoko had said in the beginning. Eventually, Kaito and Aoko settled down enough to be civil and Hakuba turned his attention towards Kaito.

"But Kudou-kun didn't attend the class?" he asked.

 _Bingo._

"Hmm? Why wouldn't he?" Kaito said in a nonchalant voice.

"What? That idiot! I thought the doctor told him to take a day off." Hakuba whisper shouted.

"I knew it! What happened to Shinichi?" Kaito leaned towards him, glaring.

Hakuba winced, realizing that he had fallen for the magician's schemes.

"Nothing much happened. Kudou-kun got involved in a case last night and got a bit hurt. Nothing serious," Hakuba said after a while.

Kaito sighed, knowing he won't be getting more out of him. They ate in relative silence after that with Aoko asking a few questions every once in a while related to their lectures.

He took this time to think about what the bastard had just said. He has glad that nothing serious had happened but it was just like the detective to leave something like this out of their conversations. He was a little upset that Shinichi didn't trust him enough to tell him about this but quickly shoved that thought away. Shinichi had been like that as Conan too; taking ever ones pain on his shoulder but refusing to let others do the same for him.

Kaito would have to change that.

He quickly decided to go to the detective's house after classes ended with some food.

Making his way towards the Kudo Manor; Kaito made a quick stop to grab a takeout cup of iced coffee and a slice of lemon pie for the detective. Quickly reaching the Manor, he rang the bell and waited. He could break in easily but he didn't think the detective would appreciate that.

 _I could do that next time_ , Kaito thought.

The door opened and Kaito could see Shinichi standing in front of him in all his glory, with the most adorable bed hair and a cute frown on his face.

"Kaito?" he seemed confused seeing the thief standing in his doorway, before ushering him inside towards the library; where he had fallen asleep –again.

"Hey Shin-chan, how are you feeling?" Kaito offered the food to the detective who took it with a grateful yet sheepish smile.

"Thanks but you didn't have to. I'm fine, by the way, why are you asking?"

"Shinichi, you missed your lectures today and I heard you got into an accident last night, _which you did not tell me about_ ," Kaito leveled him with his most unimpressed stare.

An ' _Ahh that'_ look crossed his face and Kaito couldn't help but sigh. Of course he wouldn't think that getting hurt was that bad of a thing. _Honestly_.

"It wasn't that big of a deal, the worst thing that happened was that I twisted my ankle. The doctor told me to rest for the day and not put much pressure on it," Shinichi shrugged, with a sheepish grin on his face.

"What! Then why are you standing right now? Let's sit," with that Kaito grabbed Shinichi's hands, pulling him towards the double doors leading towards the massive library. He lightly pushed him towards the couch set up near one of the bookshelves. He was glad that he wasn't injured that badly, Hakuba did say it wasn't serious. But he couldn't just sit at home all day waiting for the detective to go to college or text him asking about the injury. It felt too impersonal and Kaito didn't think he could have lasted the whole day without seeing if Shinichi was fine with his own eyes.

Shinichi didn't say anything and instead took a sip of the drink in his hand. His eyes widened as he realized what Kaito had gotten. He looked into the box that now sat on his lap and sent Kaito a grateful smile, "Thank you for this, Kaito."

"It's your favorite, right?" Kaito asked, a bit nervous. Which shocked him, since when was the great phantom thief nervous about something as simple as iced coffee and pie?

"Have you been stalking me, thief? How did you know?" he narrowed his eyes, a teasing twinkle in his eyes, "You even knew where the library was. How many times have you broken into my home?"

"That's insignificant," Kaito evaded the question and Shinichi's burning gaze in favor of looking at the books lined all over the room. "Man, all these are mystery novels; you are such a nerd, Shin-chan."

"Some are reference books and case files that my dad used and who are you calling a nerd, internationally famous phantom thief?" He huffed as he got only a smirk as an answer before being ignored.

Putting the food besides him, he turned his attention towards Kaito, a question burning at the tip of his tongue. Though he didn't think Kaito would answer it, so he instead asked him something which KID had said that had annoyed him immensely.

"Did you just call me Shin-chan?" he glared at his guest when he realized something, "Wait, you called me that when you came in too right?"

Kaito turned to look at him, his eyes conveying a ' _Did you just notice, you idiot?_ ' before a grin took over his face, "Do you have a problem with it, _Shin-chan_?"

"As a matter of fact, I do have a problem with it. You sound weirdly like my mom and that really freaks me out."

"Your mom calls you Shin-chan? I can see why, it's such a _cute_ nickname, _Shin-chan_." His face reeked of smugness which didn't set well with Shinichi.

"You want me to throw you out?" he said without any real bite in his voice. Too annoyed by Kaito calling him by his embarrassing nickname, he turned to ask him the question which he had originally meant to ask earlier.

"Did you come all the way here to give me food, _Kai-chan_?"

Why did he think Kaito wouldn't answer such a simple question? Shinichi suddenly realized, it wasn't the question but the possible answer which was bothering him. What if Kaito had come only for that and not to spend time with him? What if he didn't actually care? That was very unlikely but still such thoughts ran across Shinichi's mind.

It was nothing but a simple courtesy. Something that happened only between _friends_.

Why didn't he want that? They were friends. So why didn't he feel satisfied?

"Kai-chan? Sounds weird. I like it," Kaito said grinning at Shinichi, completely oblivious to what Shinichi was thinking.

"That's not the point here," Shinichi huffed, "and you didn't answer the question."

Kaito stayed quiet, mulling over his thoughts. After a few minutes, Shinichi decided he wasn't going to get an answer and went back to his drink. It was quiet for a while, with the occasional sound of Kaito moving around the room, going all over the place reading the spines of the books before gently murmuring.

"I came over because I was worried."

Shinichi sputtered, thinking he heard him wrong. The famous thief -worried?

Not that KID didn't worry at all; he did.

Even as Conan, Shinichi knew how caring the thief was towards the task force and his audience. It shouldn't come as a surprise that he was worried but somehow Shinichi was still surprised. He didn't think he would actually hear him say that out loud.

"What?" he said eloquently.

The thief looked at the detective, before turning his gaze towards the empty seat next to him, avoiding eye contact, "Well, you usually never miss classes and you didn't mention anything wrong last night so I wasn't worried at first but then Haku-bastard said that you had gotten hurt –he said it wasn't serious but I was still worried," he moved towards Shinichi, stopping when the space between them was only a few inches. "You should have told me about it Shinichi even if it's something small like this," he gestured towards his ankles before quickly adding on to his speech when he saw Shinichi open his mouth, no doubt a protest already on his lips.

"I was worried and I didn't even know what had happened, I'd rather be worried while knowing what had happened, Shinichi."

They stood in silence after that before Shinichi broke it, "I can't promise you that." Looking Kaito directly in the eyes, he saw a flash of hurt pass through his eyes and he quickly added, "I'm not used to saying all that stuff and I don't like to make other people worry though I know they'll worry anyway. All I can say is that I'm willing to try. I'll try to be more open about it and if –god forbid- I did end up getting hurt then I'll try not to leave it out of the conversation. But only if you promise you'll try to do the same, I know you risk your life a lot with what you do," he took a deep breath before letting a small smile take over his face –hoping Kaito would agree to what he had asked of him- knowing he had asked for a promise which would be hard to keep.

"I promise."

Startled, Shinichi's eyes widened before he grinned, matching Kaito's.

"Now that's over with, I'm sorry for being a bad host but do you want something to drink? Tea, coffee, hot chocolate or water?" Shinichi

Taking him up on his offer of hot chocolate, the two moved towards the kitchen. Shinichi put the pie on the counter before moving to make Kaito his drink.

"Hey! You're hurt right now. Sit down and let me do the work," Kaito said already moving towards the cabinets holding the cups.

"Okay –thief, seriously how did you know where the _mugs_ are? I understand that you know the layout of the house, the library isn't really hidden or anything but the mugs? That's creepy." Shinichi said, his voice taking a serious tone as he settled down, his eyes following Kaito's movements. But when Kaito turned around to look him in the eyes, his eyes held a light and teasing look.

"I'm just a meticulous person, Meitantei." Kaito smirked before turning back towards the task at hand.

After they both were settled down with their drinks in their hands, Kaito filled up the silence by telling Shinichi about what he had missed during the class, which honestly wasn't much because Kaito had not been paying attention but at least he was able to provide a vague idea.

They stayed there for what felt like hours, talking about everything and anything. Shinichi told him more about his days as Conan and some of the more bizarre cases they have stumbled upon. In turn, Kaito told him about his heists which the detective didn't know about or hadn't attended.

Kaito was glad that the detective didn't ask him about his reasons to become a thief; he didn't think he was ready for that conversation yet. And Shinichi was glad Kaito didn't ask about the Black Organization, which was still a sore topic for him.

They both were surprised how easily they talked, how it seemed so natural, so _warm_.

In the middle of telling Shinichi one of his many elaborate plans to prank Hakuba, his eyes flickered towards his watch and he let out a small gasp, "I should back, it's getting late."

Shinichi nodded, checking the time himself. He got up to walk Kaito to the front door, turning towards his companion, he smiled, "Thanks for coming all the way over her, Kai, I was really getting bored so I honestly appreciate it."

"Shin-chan, there is no need to thank me, I had fun too," he tried to appear nonchalant by shrugging but inside his heart and stomach were doing back flips at the nickname. They stopped outside the front door, Shinichi leaning against the door while Kaito stood at the porch.

"You should go rest, Shinichi," Kaito smiled before his turning around to walk towards the gate.

"Kai!" Kaito turned around at Shinichi's voice, he quirked an eyebrow at him in a silent question. His expression quickly turned into confusion when he saw that the detective seemed nervous. He opened his mouth to ask him what was wrong when Shinichi's expression changed, a smug smile taking over.

"I was feeling a little off today," Kaito didn't think he would say that, he was expecting another cheesy pick up line. He was proven right when Shinichi's eyes twinkled, a light pink taking over his cheeks, "But you definitely turned me on."

With that the detective slammed the door shut, leaving a _very_ flustered magician outside with an equally flustered detective behind the door.

…

Reaching home, Kaito couldn't help but blush as he remembered his detective's words.

Only one thought crossed his mind, _I'm officially done for_.

Having a quick dinner, he got ready for bed and was ready to pass out when his phone beeped loudly. Picking up his phone, he opened the message when he saw who it was from.

 **Shinichi** : Hey! Don't be alarmed. But-

 **Shinichi** : …

 **Shinichi** : I got hurt…

Below the texts which had sent Kaito into a near panic was a picture which made him laugh out loud.

 **It was a picture of his finger with a small paper cut on it.**

Kaito couldn't help but let out a fond, exasperated sigh when he saw the picture.

 **Kaito** : Did you know you can heal paper cuts and immediately stop the pain with chapstick. I'll get you some tomorrow, so you won't have to worry.

The conversation stopped and Kaito took the lag in the conversation to pass out.

 _He made sure to put several different flavored chapsticks in Shinichi's pant pockets (both front and back pocket and the latter had managed to get him a sharp slap on the back of the head with a blushing Shinichi which made everything worthwhile) and a few in his bag._

…

"Kaito."

"No."

"Kuroba Kaito!"

"You shouting and saying my full name would not change my answer."

"I'm inviting Kudou-kun too," Kaito could hear the smugness in her voice.

"Sorry but I will not be third wheeling with Shinichi," he retorted, already feeling irritated.

"It's not third wheeling –you idiot- if there are four people going out to eat. And it honestly won't be that bad. Saguru and I don't act like a couple half of the time. Shinichi-kun and he will probably be talking about their cases and I don't want to be alone when that happens," she pleaded, her fingers interlaced.

"Aoko, I know that you're still in your honeymoon phase... I don't think even Shinichi would want to see that. And yes, you do act like a couple most of the time. And why would I want to subject myself to the torture of looking and hearing that bastard Hakuba," the magician did not want to see the two detectives talking about Sherlock Holmes.

"Well you and Shinichi are in your 14 year old crush phase so when are you going to grow up and ask him out? It will be like a double date, Kaito," Aoko was trying really hard to convince him, "Also, don't call Saguru a bastard, you stupid magician."

Not that hard then.

"Why would I want to go on a double date with someone like you, Ahoko," he groaned. Why would she try to set _him_ up? He was a Phantom Thief; he could easily steal the hearts of millions of people. Kudo Shinichi would be no exception.

"Because I'm your best friend and I deserve to spend time with my childhood friend and my future brother in law," she said with finality in her voice, no one was going to change her mind now.

Kaito sputtered, "Isn't that a bit too far?"

"Unbelievable. You aren't even going to fight it. I'm inviting Kudou-kun and telling him you are going to there too. So, you better get there Bakaito or else there will be hell to pay," she stalked out of the room after that, leaving Kaito alone with his thoughts about his detective on a date with him.

And that was how magician extraordinaire Kuroba Kaito was found at the mall waiting for his friends to arrive.

Just five more minutes and then Kaito was ditching them.

Best friend or not, he didn't want them to embarrass him or say something wrong in front of Shinichi. He could seriously do without that. And knowing Aoko, she was bound to say some unnecessary things.

Thankfully things hadn't become awkward between them after Kaito's visit to his detective's house. Shinichi had been his usual normal, smug, intelligent and as handsome as he had always been self when they met again.

"Your eyes are blue, like the ocean," Kaito's eyes widened at the voice and the words that he just said. He looked up to see Shinichi smirking while standing in front of him. The detective before him continued, "And baby, I'm lost at sea." He could feel his face flushing at the pickup line.

Why would he still fall for them after all this time? When would his facial muscles stop reacting whenever Kudou Shinichi said one of his stupid pickup lines?

Apparently, never.

Before he could come up with a reply, Shinichi had already changed the subject.

"You're early, Kai," Kaito looked at the detective with narrowed eyes before relenting.

 _That nickname._

How could he stay mad at Shinichi when he called him Kai? It always managed to make him smile.

"I'm always early, Meitantei," he replied with a small smirk.

"Weren't you late just -"

"Let's forget about that, shall we? Have you seen Aoko yet?" He smiled sweetly at Shinichi who in turn laughed at the rapid change in subject. He wanted to avoid talking about the last time he was late. He knows that their professor was still mad at him judging by all the looks he had been getting. The man kept on asking questions after questions; getting angrier whenever Kaito gave a perfect answer which he always did.

"I haven't seen her yet. Maybe they are already at the restaurant?"

"She would've messaged me then at least. Let's check it out."

They walked in comfortable silence with Shinichi occasionally pointing out that some things that he observed while watching the strangers around him. The detective could tell a lot about the people around him. Picking up their habits or their jobs, noticing things that nobody would bother thinking twice about. According to him, this had helped him solve lots of cases before. More than once it had turned out to be crucial hint in solving the case and putting the perpetrator behind bars.

A thought struck him suddenly and he turned towards his companion. "Hey, Shinichi?"

"Yes?" Shinichi stopped talking about the woman who probably was an auto mechanic going by the state of her hands, motioning for Kaito to continue.

"When was the last case you stumbled upon?" He asked with a bright smile, giving nothing away.

"Why are you asking me that?" He narrowed his eyes at the magician before answering, "Yesterday, around 4 pm."

Kaito just hummed before going back to his previous task of looking around searching for his best friend. He couldn't help but wince at the reason why he had asked him that.

The probability of a case happening now was low, which is a good thing. He couldn't be the only one who had noticed how cases seemed to drop anywhere any of the detectives were present. And seeing as he was about to eat with two detectives today, he wanted the chance of a case occurring to be near nil. Thankfully Lady Luck had always been on his side. So hopefully that would be the case today as well.

He didn't want this double date –friendly meeting between friends- to end up with someone getting murdered. Their friend group could do with a day without cases.

In the meantime, detective kept his eyes at the suspicious magician for a few more seconds before looking forward at the restaurant in front of him.

"I don't see them anywhere," he said looking at the people sitting inside through the glass

"I can't see them too. Let me call Aoko," Kaito took out his phone from his back pocket and was about to dial her number but stopped when her name appeared on his phone.

"She's calling me now," he told Shinichi, answering the call.

"Ahoko, where are you? We've been waiting for hours!" He complained, making his voice sound as annoyed as he could. Kaito could hear Shinichi snort besides him and smiled. The detective should laugh more. He sounded pretty when he did.

"Kaito don't be overdramatic, it's hardly been minutes," she said ignoring the next - _overdramatic? Me?_ from Kaito.

"Also I'm sorry but we won't be able to come today, Kaito. Saguru caught a cold and has been told to rest," after that coughing could be heard through the mobile. Coughing- which Kaito was sure was 100% fake.

"I thought idiots couldn't catch colds. Please tell me again how he caught a cold." The - _I know what you are planning and I don't like it_ \- was apparent in his voice. A double date was bad enough but she was being so obvious about this that it was beginning to physically hurt him. He should've known better.

"Bakaito, you're the only idiot here and don't trouble me again. Tell Shinichi-kun I said sorry." _You better make the most out of this date_ was also apparent.

Saying goodbyes and telling her to wish Hakuba a _speedy_ recovery, he turned towards Shinichi.

"Well-" he started.

"I know, I heard," Shinichi cut him off. "We could still get something to eat. If you want," he quickly added.

"Y-yeah, let's go!" Kaito refused to say that he stuttered.

Smiling at each other, they turned towards the restaurant. Soon they were seated and with food ordered they turned to look at each other.

They settled into a comfortable silence while they waited for the food to arrive. Looking around the restaurant, Kaito pointed out the various things he liked about the interior. He was finished by the time their food arrived, after which Shinichi started the conversation.

Shinichi asked him about his day and he asked him about his. Their conversation went from the food they ate last night, to their lectures and their studies, to how Shinichi still got chased around by the soccer members in order to recruit him and make him a permanent member of the soccer club and how Kaito was holding small magic shows at this ramen restaurant near his place as a part time job. He smiled when Shinichi promised to visit.

"Someone has to be there to tell them about the tricks behind your so called magic," he grumbled.

"You have no imagination, Meitantei. I bet you wouldn't be able to find out every single trick," he challenged the detective, knowing he would never back out of a challenge.

"You're on, thief," the detective smirked in return.

Laughter and smiles were evident in their exchanges.

Kaito was sure that their waiter was completely freaked out after Shinichi explained the case he had stumbled upon yesterday. The cases he had encountered with Hattori Heiji were on a completely different level.

Kaito was thoroughly impressed and the waiter was thoroughly scared out of his wits.

Soon it was time to leave and Kaito realized that he didn't want to go. He didn't want to leave the detective's company. It had been a long time since he had had this much fun, laughed so much with someone who wasn't Aoko.

With someone who could see through his Poker Face so easily. And give him the thrill that he craved whenever he donned his cape. With someone who wasn't a stuck-up detective like Hakuba was and could understand the magician. The detective had his own set of morals which appealed the magician. The way he did things wasn't the traditional way and Shinichi put his blood, sweat and tears in his work. Kaito admired how he seemed to put his soul into the work, never backing out of a challenge.

Maybe...maybe he should try it this time. This could be fun; he was positively grinning now. The response was going to be spectacular for sure.

He turned towards the detective at the same time as the detective. Knowing what the Heisei Holmes might say, he started before the detective could, effectively stopping him.

"Hello," he started, a smirk plastered over his face. "I'm a thief, and I'm here to steal your heart," He said smugly before turning towards the entrance. He stopped halfway to look back at Shinichi's flustered face.

"I'll see you later, Shinichi." He made a beeline for the door, leaving Shinichi with a dopey smile on his face.

…

Kaito was just coming back from the park where he had given an impromptu performance to a bunch of children and a few pigeons when he stopped in front of Aoko's house seeing Kudo Shinichi walking up the pathway towards the door.

"Shinichi?" Kaito called.

The person in question turned around hearing his name called and was pleasantly surprised when he saw Kaito looking towards him with a confused expression, his eyebrow raised in a questioning way.

"What are you doing here?" Shinichi asked, moving towards Kaito now.

"I live next door," Kaito snorted, before realizing he just told the detective who knows that he is KID where he lives. _Oh well._ "I should be asking you this."

"Ahh actually I needed to get some notes about a fraud case from Nakamori-keibu. There is a case going on and the suspects were said to be involved in a fraud case three years ago. Nakamori-keibu was the one who handled the case so I asked him if he could get me the reports. He told me that he had some notes on the case at his home and that I could ask Nakamori-san for them." Shinichi explained, "I have to say thought, I didn't expect to run into you here, I mean I knew you were reckless but now I find out that not only do you know Nakamori-keibu, his daughter and Hakuba-san, you also live right next to the inspector who is trying to put you behind bars, KID. On top of that, your first name is Kaito. Kaito! You really live for the thrill, don't know?"

Kaito was positively beaming by the time Shinichi finished, not only had Shinichi openly told him what was happening –he wasn't expecting that he was going to receive a proper answer- but he had managed to surprise his detective too!

"Living on the edge is an absolute pleasure, the thrill is the best part," Kaito said with mirth in his voice, before continuing, "And of course, I live to please you," he offered Shinichi a rose with a complementary wink, pleased to see the blush that slowly spread through the Heisei Holmes' face as he took the rose.

Inside the house, Aoko heard faint whispers and went to check it out. Opening the door, she was greeted by the sight of Kaito offering Kudo-kun a beautiful azure colored rose and saw the blush on the detective and the grin on her childhood best friend's face. She stood still for a while, gaping at the scene.

Shinichi looked towards the door and coughed a short, awkward laugh before making his way towards the woman standing besides the open door.

"Nakamori-san, sorry to disturb you like this but I was wondering if your father had left some case notes for me?" Shinichi asked; the blush from before disappearing and being replaced a more serious look.

"Ahh yes, dad did call a while ago telling me about that. Why don't you come inside while I get it," Aoko said, ignoring Shinichi's apologies for interrupting and what not.

Kaito lightly pushed him inside and got out of his shoes into the house slippers which were already set out. Shinichi gave Kaito a look before doing the same and following the thief into the living room.

"You want something to drink? We have water, juice, tea and coffee," Kaito said without sparing the kitchen a glance, he suddenly smirked, "Why did I even ask? It's probably coffee right."

His smirked widened when Shinichi just glared at him and said nothing. He went behind the counter before rummaging through some stuff.

"Ahoko! Do you want something to drink?" Kaito shouted and resumed his work after he heard the distant shout of _Tea, bakaito!_

While Kaito was busy preparing the beverages, Shinichi studied him. To him Kaito seemed to be truly at easy, which was already very curious –he knew the thief could act like he was at easy, but now it didn't seem like he was faking it. He was in the house of someone who worked day and night to capture him but here he was, moving around the house as if he owned it. With the way he looked and worked, it seemed as if it was a daily routine. And maybe it was. Maybe this was how the Kaitou KID actually was when he was with someone he trusted.

 _Did Kaito trust him?_ Shinichi mentally berated himself, because of course Kaito did! Why else would he be here with him –someone who knew his biggest secret- if he didn't trust him.

But it somehow felt different from the day when Kaito had visited his house even if he was doing the same thing as before. The amount of time he had spent here in comparison to Shinichi's was evident. He knew Shinichi wasn't going to capture him outside his heist but still had a bit of his guard up. But here, the residents actively searched for the thief and yet he still was so comfortable.

Shinichi suddenly had the thought of 'will I ever be able to make him that comfortable?' but quickly brushed the thought away.

At the moment Aoko came into the living room, a report in her hands which she handed to Shinichi. Shinichi thanked her and was about to take his leave when Kaito stopped him, with a hand on his shoulder and the other hand holding a steaming cup of coffee.

"I think it's better if you drink this first and then go, after all it's rude to come to someone's place and refuse anything that they offer," Kaito said and motioned for the detective to sit. Shinichi moved to refuse him but found he was unable to –with the way Kaito was staring at him, he didn't think that he could or that if he did, then it wouldn't make a difference to the thief.

The peace in the room was cut short when Aoko's phone started blaring, quickly picking up, she gasped at what she heard and looked at the time.

Turning towards them she said, "I'm so sorry about this but I need to go." At Kaito's questioning look, she elaborated, "I have a date with Saguru." Kaito grimaced at that.

Shinichi quickly stood up and apologized for taking so much of her time and started gathering his things. At Kaito's glare, Aoko quickly stopped Shinichi, "It looks like you are doing something important, why don't you go over to Kaito's place. I'm sure he wouldn't mind, would you Kaito?"

"I sure wouldn't. Let's go, Shinichi."

And that was how Shinichi found himself sitting on the Phantom Thief's couch, drinking coffee. Trying to focus on the notes before him, Shinichi found himself sneaking glances towards the thief every few minutes.

Shaking his head he focused on the notes, there was something weird about the case, which he just couldn't pinpoint. He already knew who the killer was and how he had killed the victim but there was the lack of evidence that he just couldn't seem to find. Sighing, he looked at the pictures laid down before him with utmost concentration, his mind blocking out all other noises and thoughts.

Kaito watched the detective sitting on his couch with a thoughtful expression. Shinichi had been looking at him for a few seconds before, as if something was bothering him –what was bothering him Kaito did not know, yet- but watching him mulling over some reports, seeing the contemplative expression on Shinichi's face, Kaito couldn't help but smile. His detective was so cute sometimes, without even realizing it. Kaito was delighted when he saw the smirk which took over the Detective of the East's face, almost mirroring his KID smirk. Shinichi got up from where he was sitting and got his phone out of his pocket. In a second he was on the phone with Megure-keibu.

"Keibu, I solved the Hasegawa murder case," he said and explained everything to the inspector. When he was done, he took a seat back on the couch and with a promise to visit the station soon and give his statement; he said his goodbyes and closed his phone.

"Another case solved, Meitantei?" Kaito asked a smile on his face.

Shinichi startled, he had almost forgotten that he was in the same room as the infamous thief in his excitement to unmask the culprit. "Yeah, thanks for letting me stay here and thank you for the coffee too." Shinichi let his gaze wander now that the case was off his mind. It was a fairly modern house; it gave a distinct feeling of being lived in, even though the place was clean, it felt a bit impersonal. As if it was being used after a fair amount of time.

"Ahh can you also give my thanks to-"

"Are you going to tell me now?" Kaito asked, directing a questioning gaze towards Shinichi.

"Huh? Tell what?" Startled, Shinichi looked at him with wide eyes, a bit annoyed at being interrupted.

"Well you obviously want to ask me something. You kept looking at me at Aoko's place and then when we came here. So what was it? Come one, you can ask. Although I can't guarantee if I will answer your question or not," The smirk that the thief gave him was nothing but mischievous and a little bit of something that Shinichi couldn't put a name to. Sitting back, Shinichi let himself think a bit before asking.

"I guess I just didn't expect you to be that comfortable inside the inspector's house, even though he wasn't there. Also I didn't expect that you would let the detective who chases you –the one who knows who you are- into your house." Shinichi asked, feeling lighter.

Kaito pondered the question before letting out a short laugh, "I could ask you the same thing, you let me into your own house, didn't you?" he ignored the – _you would have broken in any way_ that Shinichi mumbled before continuing.

"Shinichi, I've known Aoko since we were little kids, while yes, sometimes I do feel bad about what I'm doing and how me being KID affects her, I can't really apologize. I trust that girl, and she and the inspector are kind of my foster family, so I am comfortable around them. As for me inviting you to my place," the smirk that appeared on Kaito's face was filled with glee and Shinichi kind of regretted ever asking, "You might not believe it, detective but I do trust you. If you wanted me to be in jail, I would already be there I'm pretty sure."

He took a deep breath, deciding that we probably would not get any chance like this again. He was going to do it.

Go big or go home.

"Shinichi, you are my favorite detective, you aren't a stuck-up like that Hakuba bastard who thinks that the law is always correct. You aren't afraid to bend the rules when the situation requires for it and have your own sense of justice which I really admire. I always feel like I've accomplished something when I see you trying to figure out the magic that I perform during heists. You are both a critic _and_ a spectator. You want to find out how I performed the trick, to unmask it like all the other detectives and officers but unlike them you also know how to appreciate the magic. You are my favorite audience. You aren't there to just break the illusion. You are there to watch it happen and although the logic always prevails and you can't stop yourself for trying to figure out every mystery that comes you way, that is honestly something I really admire about you. Shinichi, you can actually give me a run for my money and you are as quick witted as I am. Although those soccer balls were hellish, the most fun I've had are on the heists that you attended. Going against you, having to play a game of cat and mouse with you is an amazing experience that still makes my heart race. That smirk I see on your face whenever you figure out a trick or mystery is a delight. I want to see it every day, even though sometimes I feel like I should run in the opposite direction whenever it happens. I want to make you happy and make you laugh. I really like hearing and seeing you laugh, as creepy as that sounds but I think we already established that I'm really creepy seeing as I've broken into your house so many times- but that's business and completely irrelevant in this conversation," he gave a short laugh and could hear Shinichi snort.

"Back to the topic, Shin-chan, whenever I see you blush, I feel like combusting on the spot. And whenever you say those stupid pickup lines of yours, I feel like jumping you at the very place, even though it might be a bit inappropriate." Kaito paused to take a breath, he didn't think he would say this much but the moment he started, he couldn't find it in himself to stop and seeing the look of amazement and adoration along with that blush was everything Kaito needed to continue.

"I want to keep making riddles for you to solve and make you coffee whenever you come over regardless of the fact that hot chocolate is way better than that motor oil that you drink. I want to see you puzzle over each riddle and that ridiculous smirk that appears on your face every single time. I want to continue having heists with you there. I want to give you a rose every time I see you and capture all those moments that we have. I want to go out with you, Shinichi."

Shinichi's face was burning red by the time Kaito was finished. Kaito waited, his nerves acting up but he carefully hid how anxious he was behind his poker face. He wished he hadn't scared the boy away with his rant.

"If stars would fall every time I would think of you, the sky would soon be empty." Was the only thing Shinichi said, looking at Kaito with a smile on his face which was accompanying his blush.

"Huh?" was Kaito's eloquent reply.

"Didn't you say you felt like jumping me whenever I said a cheesy pickup line?" Shinichi said, a grin taking the place of his smile.

Kaito face was taken over by a very KID like grin before he pounced on his detective.

 _Come to think of it, he had been referring to Shinichi as his detective all along, hadn't he?_

"Wait, how many times have you broken into my house?"

"Shut up."

…

Sitting in the Kudou library with The Sign of the Four in his hands, Shinichi waited for Kaito to come into the room with his mug of coffee.

Frankly, Shinichi was starting to get annoyed, Kaito had left almost fifteen minutes ago and after months of dating the thief, the detective had come to know that if the thief was out of his sight for more than ten minutes then he was about to do something which would ultimately bring trouble to everyone –except the magician probably.

Like the time Kaito had _accidentally_ let all the dogs from the pet shop nearby out.

The dogs that _Shinichi_ had to find and apologize for.

Or the time that Kaito had reached their shared class five minutes late and then the damn professor was found unconscious in the garden dressed in a maid costume (how no one had noticed it was beyond him).

Or the time when Shinichi had come home late to find all his furniture shifted an inch to the left. Shinichi ate sushi for the whole week as his revenge.

There were many more instances which made him shudder, he could write a whole book about them.

Needless to say, Shinichi didn't quite trust the magician when he was alone.

Shinichi was about to call out his idiot magician when the lights flickered before going out completely.

"Kaito, if this is another one of your pranks then stop," he shouted to the thin air, knowing that he could hear him.

Surprised, Shinichi turned towards the door when he heard it open. His eyes widened at the scene in front of him.

"What?" He looked at all his friends standing in front of him. Ran, Sonoko, Heiji, Kazuha, Doctor Agasa with the detective boys, even his parents were present. "What's going on? When did you come here?"

"Shinichi, you're an idiot. You always forget," Ran groaned but there was a smile on her face, "Turn around, detective geek."

He gave her an annoyed glare before turning around, only to be met with a smiling Kaito with a cake in his hands.

"Happy birthday, Shin-chan."

...

Thank you for all the comments! They made my day and i would love to hear your opinion on this chapter!


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